Democratic-Breakthrough

Yates v. United States Limits Smith Act Prosecutions, Supreme Court Begins Retreat from McCarthyism

1957-06-17 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

On June 17, 1957, the Supreme Court issued three decisions that significantly limited McCarthyist overreach: Yates v. United States, Watkins v. United States, and Service v. Dulles. Known as “Red Monday” to conservative critics, these rulings began the judicial rollback of the security …

Earl Warren U.S. Supreme Court Oleta O'Connor Yates Communist Party USA Department of Justice civil-liberties judicial first-amendment mccarthyism red-scare +1 more

Supreme Court Affirms Montgomery Bus Segregation Unconstitutional, Boycott Ends in Victory

1956-11-13 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

On November 13, 1956, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the district court ruling in Browder v. Gayle, declaring Montgomery, Alabama’s bus segregation laws unconstitutional. The decision marked the triumphant conclusion of the 381-day Montgomery Bus Boycott and established Martin Luther …

Martin Luther King Jr. Rosa Parks E.D. Nixon Jo Ann Robinson Montgomery Improvement Association +2 more civil-rights segregation judicial nonviolent-resistance democratic-breakthrough